


Bedtime

by Genie_of_the_Fourth_Wall



Series: Growing Up [4]
Category: Kindergarten (Video Games 2017 2019)
Genre: Autistic!Nugget, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Human Experimentation, Introspection, Night Terrors, Panic Attacks, Sleepovers, y’know... cuz Billy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24159754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genie_of_the_Fourth_Wall/pseuds/Genie_of_the_Fourth_Wall
Summary: Having your best friend/brother go missing was a really terrible experience. Being kidnapped and experimented on was even worse. At least they had something to look forward to at the end of the week.
Relationships: (Just kiddy crushes for the ship tag, Billy & Lily & Nugget (Kindergarten Video Games), Billy & Lily (Kindergarten Video Games), Billy & Nugget (Kindergarten Video Games), Lily & Nugget (Kindergarten Video Games), Lily/Nugget (Kindergarten Video Games), nothing serious)
Series: Growing Up [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1472879
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	1. Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> So what I’ve learned is that I should just... stop saying that I’ll have something out soon, because it just never works out that way. But anyway, here’s Nugget, Billy, and Lily’s time to shine in this series! Since it’s basically one chapter for each of them, I had always planned to upload the whole story at once. Here we go!

Nugget slung his backpack onto his shoulders. It was heavier than it usually was, containing a couple day’s worth of clothing and other provisions. As the week came to a close, he had become anxious about not being able to see Lily and Billy again. Billy had just barely escaped the clutches of the Principal, and then the siblings nearly got themselves killed the very next day. After that, they promised not to run off without him, but the inevitability of the weekend threatened to tear them apart once again. Maybe it was only a couple of days, but given what they had been through... Nugget worried about losing them. Thus, the children’s parents came up with the perfect solution: A sleepover.

“You got everything?” Nugget’s dad asked, waiting by the door. He spun the car keys around his index finger absentmindedly. Nugget’s mom was already at work by this time, so Nugget’s dad was always the one who would drive him to school.

“Nugget is ready to go,” Nugget replied with a nod. He walked towards the door, but his dad stopped him with a touch to his shoulder.

“Nathan, wait.”

Nugget froze. His parents only used his real name when they were being very serious.

“Remember, if anything happens, or you need something, just call. The Takahashi’s seem like very nice people, but... well, your mom and I worry. We know you’re not the best with unfamiliar places. Probably would’ve been more comfortable holding it here, but...”

Nugget stiffened as his dad trailed off. Nugget knew what he was implying. It would have been cruel to separate Billy from his parents so soon after they had gotten him back. That wasn’t what bothered Nugget. For a moment, he was reminded of... less than pleasant things. Nugget leaned against his father, resting his head on his leg. He could feel warmth through the material, and the sensation made him relax. Yes, Nugget’s parents were good. They worried because they loved him. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter what anybody else said.

“Nugget will be fine, dad. Nugget’s friends will be there, so Nugget won’t be alone. And Nugget will make sure friend Billy and Lily are fine, too.”

Nugget’s dad smiled, ruffling his hair. “Thatta boy. Let’s get you to school.”

* * *

Nugget’s dad was right. Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi did seem like nice people. Then again, adults could seem nice without actually _being_ nice. Sometimes adults acted nice towards you, all while telling you that _nobody likes you the way you are, anybody who says that you’re fine is a liar, you aren’t normal, take these to make you normal, if they make you feel awfully empty that’s perfectly fine, at least you aren’t a_ freak _anymore-_

Still, Billy and Lily seemed to trust them, so Nugget would too, until they gave him a reason not to. They left the kids in Billy’s room while they went to prepare dinner. Billy pulled a bunch of papers out of his backpack, adding them to the growing pile on his small desk.

“So, before we forget, we should go over what we learned today-“ Billy started.

“Nugget thinks friend Billy should take a break,” Nugget cut in.

Since Kid had rescued him on Monday, Billy had been working nonstop to save kids throughout the district caught in similar situations. Billy was a brave, kind person, and that’s why he was Nugget’s friend. But there was only so much one kid could do. Well, unless you were _that_ Kid, Nugget thought, but _he_ seemed to more or less stumble his way into helping people. And Kid... _knew_ things, so Nugget wasn’t sure how much he could trust him. But Nugget was getting off track. Billy needed to rest, and Nugget would make sure he did.

“Yeah Billy, I agree with Nugget. We’ve been working really hard, and I’m proud of what we’ve done, but there isn’t much we can do during the weekend. We might as well relax for awhile,” Lily chimed in.

Nugget blushed when Lily agreed with him. They may have been more familiar with each other, but his crush still hadn’t gone away. If anything, getting to know her better had only strengthened it.

“Mm... okay. Let’s play some Monstermon, then!” Billy said, snapping Nugget’s attention away from the pretty Lily.

Billy seemed to light up as the three of them pulled out their decks. Billy was the best at the game out of the three of them, but Nugget and Lily were no slouchers. Round after round, the kids talked about their favorite Monstermons, and the conversation soon meandered into whatever random topics they could think of. Before they knew it, they were called down for dinner, and the twins’ parents helped set them up with sleeping bags in the living room. Billy insisted that they build a blanket fort, and Lily cocooned herself in a bunch of fuzzy floral sheets. As they whispered in the dark, Nugget decided that _this_ is what normal must really feel like.


	2. Midnight

_He was trapped. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs were filled with liquid. Something was growing all over his skin, and it felt **wrong**. Everything hurt. Lily was there, outside of his tube. She yelled something, but it was too muffled for him to understand. Suddenly, his vision was flooded with red. Lily wouldn’t stop screaming. Then there was only pain, pain, pain, **pain** -_

“Billy! Billy, wake up! It’s just a nightmare!”

Billy jolted awake. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Nugget and Lily were crouched over him, watching with concern. Nugget was clenching his fists, and Lily looked like she was on the verge of tears. That wouldn’t do. Billy gave them a shaky smile.

“I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”

They didn’t look convinced. Light suddenly flooded the living room as Billy’s parents burst in. Their eyes, darted around, frantically searching for danger. They dashed over to the kids.

“Is everybody okay!?” His dad asked.

“We’re fine,” Billy said, confused. Why were his parents so worried?

The two adults exchanged a look.

“We heard screams...” His mother said.

Oh. Suddenly, Billy noticed how sore his throat was. How much he was sweating. He stared at the floor, unable to look at anybody in the room.

“Friend Billy had a bad dream,” Nugget explained. Billy thought it sounded so... _silly_ when he put it like that.

His parents relaxed slightly. His mother kneeled down, brushing away the hair that was stuck to Billy’s face.

“Ah. I see. We’ll go get the nightlight from Lily’s room, okay?” she said.

“I’m fine,” Billy muttered. His parents plugged in the nightlight anyway.

Under the light-blue glow, the kids sat in a circle. Lily and Nugget were staring at Billy.

“C’mon, guys, let’s just go back to sleep. It was just a nightmare,” Billy said, doing his best to keep his voice light.

“I dunno, Billy. That was... pretty scary...” Lily shuddered.

Nugget silently stared. His nose twitched. He leaned close to Billy, giving him an intense look.

“Can Nugget see friend Billy’s hand?” he asked.

Billy was confused, but he held out his hand. Nugget put Billy’s hand right in front of his face... and then he licked it. Billy recoiled.

“Ew, Nugget! What the heck?!”

Nugget’s expression darkened. “Just as Nugget thought... Friend Billy tastes like the principal’s pills.”

Billy felt a cold pit form in his stomach. Lily went pale.

“W-what? But... it’s been almost a week! Shouldn’t that stuff be out of his system by now?” She stammered.

“The machine... I thought it turned me back to normal...” Billy’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“Why would it, if the evil principal planned to keep using friend Billy?” Nugget mused. His words shot through Billy like a bullet.

“Then that means... I-I... I’m still... a monster?” Billy gasped. _He couldn’t breathe_. Silent sobs racked his body. _Everything hurt._ The sweat (was it really just sweat?) clung to his body. _Something was growing all over his skin, and it felt **wrong**_. He had been able to brush off the stuff that had happened because he thought it was over. Except it wasn’t, and he was stuck like this forever. _He was trapped_. There would be no waking up from this nightmare.

Two pairs of arms wrapped tightly around him, breaking him out of his dark spiral.

“Friend Billy is not a monster,” Nugget said confidently.

“We worked so hard to find you. We aren’t going anywhere,” Lily added softly. She started to softly hum a lullaby their mom would sing to them. Sometimes Billy would sing it when Nugget or Lily started to get overwhelmed. This was the first time she had sung it for him.

Billy let himself cry into his best friends’ chests until he passed out from exhaustion. He didn’t have nightmares for the rest of the night.


	3. Sunrise

Lily couldn’t sleep. There was too much on her mind. At some point during the night, she had managed to detach herself from the sleeping boys. She grabbed a few blankets and curled up by the window, staring at the starry sky. She had never seen Billy cry like that before. Ever since she could remember, Billy had always been looking out for her. He said it was his job as the older sibling. She always reminded him that he was only older by about an hour. But he must have been onto something, because clearly she couldn’t protect him like he protected her. Why did it have to be this way? Was there more that she could have done?

Lily liked puzzles. Puzzles had solutions. All of the clues fit together neatly. This whole thing with Billy and the schools and the experiments wasn’t like that. It was messy, and confusing, and she was always _missing_ something. She tried to play detective, but she never seemed to get anywhere. If it wasn’t for Kid, Billy probably would’ve been missing forever. Lily sat, alone with these thoughts, watching the night sky. Her mom had told her about the constellations. Patterns in the stars that had stories. She had been upset that she couldn’t find them. Her dad had explained that the lights from the houses blotted them out. Still, she knew they were up there, so why couldn’t she find them? It was frustrating. Who decided how the stars fit together, anyway? Maybe it was the same person who decided to make her life so complicated.

“What is the pretty Lily thinking about?”

Lily jolted slightly at the sound of Nugget’s voice. She had lost track of time, but it was still dark out, so nobody else should have been awake yet. She wondered what had woken Nugget. Did he have nightmares, too?

“Billy. School. Just... everything,” she sighed.

“Mm... Nugget doesn’t like thinking about all of those things. It makes Nugget’s brain too loud. But Nugget does his best to handle it, because Nugget’s friends need him.”

“But what if... you can’t? Not you, specifically. I think you’ve been really brave, Nugget.”

“Nugget thinks the pretty Lily is brave, too. Braver than you think you are.”

Lily felt her cheeks flush, and she was glad nobody could see her face. Nugget was nice. He was strange, but he was nice. She didn’t know what to think of him, before. Before they had found Billy. Now, she knew he had good intentions. He just didn’t seem to understand how other people acted “normal”. That was okay. Lily didn’t completely understand it, either.

“Are you cold?” she asked. She loosened the blankets wrapped around her, making space for two. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Nugget sat next to her, snuggling close for warmth. He was staring at her, but Lily didn’t mind. Nugget could see the reflection of the stars in her eyes.

“Why do you think I’m brave?” Lily asked.

“Nugget had given up on friend Billy. All Nugget could do is take the principal’s pills and try to forget. The pretty Lily never gave up. The pretty Lily is much braver than Nugget is.”

“What good is bravery if you can’t do anything? I’m sure _you_ could move a mountain if you tried hard enough.” Lily giggled softly at the thought, her face lighting up for a moment before returning to her subdued, thoughtful expression. The inky night sky had shifted into a light violet. “But me? I can’t do anything on my own.”

“Who said you had to?”

Lily’s eyes widened, and it took every bit of effort not to look at Nugget like he suddenly sprouted another head. So she kept her gaze on the sky outside. The sky had turned a dusty blue, and reddish-orange was barely bleeding into the horizon. Tears threatened to run down her face, and she rubbed her eyes.

“Let’s go back to sleep,” she said.

Nugget hummed in agreement, and the two of them laid next to the sleeping Billy. The three kindergarteners huddled close together. In that moment, it became clear. None of them would ever be alone, as long as they had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this really reaffirmed to me how great of a trio these guys are. If there’s a Kindergarten 3, I really hope Nugget gets to be with these two from the beginning. They deserve to have each other’s friendship. Anyway, next on the chopping block: The Huxley twins. In what may be the darkest entry in the series. Depends on how the finale goes. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We had twin fluff in this story, now look forward to twin angst!


End file.
